Episode 219
* * *
“This damn Saxon brat… …!”
Kuung!
The former home of John, Viscount Lancaster, the younger brother of the Duke of Lancaster and the representative of part of his duchy.
In the very same room of the castle, John Lancaster slammed the table and roared. The expressions of the nobles following John froze coldly at his roar.
Cheonsim, like a reed, was drifting away towards Charlotte Lancaster overnight.
‘Storytellers’ who wander around the Grand Duchy are spreading rumors that thoroughly support Charlotte Lancaster and disparage John and the Ursus family. And the ripple effects are greater than John could have imagined.
Above all, the nobles within the Grand Duchy who should have had direct influence were leaving John one by one. Later, John also sent assassins to carry out the plot, but all they got in return were their severed heads.
“Ah, father… … .”
“Shut up, where the hell are you talking about, bitch!”
Just then, the eldest daughter, Linne, who was sitting with her, was about to open her mouth to say something. But John Lancaster shouted at her before she could even open her mouth.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Linne Lancaster lowered her head in surprise. It was at that moment.
“Go ahead, Miss Linné.”
“Ray… … !”
Ray Lancaster, who had been silent, opened his mouth. Linne swallowed in embarrassment, but Ray paid no attention.
“Since Ms. Linne is here, she has the right to speak out.”
“I, I just hope that Father won’t get too angry… … .”
But before Linne could finish speaking, John raised his voice again.
“Have you forgotten that all this happened because you were born as a woman?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Linne bowed her head again. Ray Lancaster continued speaking after seeing her appearance.
“I am your father’s daughter. Please choose your words a little more carefully.”
“Ray, although you carry the Lancaster name, make no mistake about it.”
John Lancaster spat out coldly at the sight.
“We appreciate the hospitality of the Red Tower, but let us tell you that we have no intention of becoming your puppets.”
There was a blatant hostility and wariness in those words.
“… … .”
Hearing those words, ‘Ray Yuris’ remained silent. Linne shook her delicate shoulders and tried to hold back her sobs.
“Then, let’s excuse ourselves here for those who are not of Lancaster blood.”
At the same time, Ray turned his back.
Grabbing Linne Lancaster’s hand.
* * *
A room in the castle where John is.
Linne Lancaster was a truly foolish woman. A foolish woman who would burst into tears over the smallest things and not know what to do.
“Hey, Ray… … !”
Ray looked at Linne, who was sobbing and burying her head in his arms, with an emotionless expression.
“What are you so sad about?”
“I’m just so scared… … !”
Linne said, sobbing.
“Well, I heard that the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxony is the most cruel and horrible man in the world! I’m just so scared that Father and Lady Ray are fighting against that infamous man… … ”
Ray’s expression froze at the name. It was that name again.
“D, I heard that the assassination of my uncle and Prince Richard under the pretext of a wedding was all the work of the ‘Black Prince’!”
“Yes. Also, it was his doing to defeat Prince Michael.”
A girl who is so innocent and ignorant of everything. She has no doubt that all the tragedies of the Lancaster Dukes were the work of Saxony, as the Red Tower claims. She trembles as she thinks about the horrors that Saxony’s ‘Black Prince’ will bring.
“But don’t worry.”
Ray smiled and quietly wrapped his arms around Linne’s pure white neck.
“I will never let the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxony harm my wife.”
“Ah, Ray… … !”
At Ray’s whisper, Linne smiled faintly amidst her tears.
“I can’t believe I’m so happy to have met you, Ray.”
“Me too.”
Linne smiled shyly, her cheeks blushing. Ray hugged her without saying a word, his expression blank as he gazed at her from behind the nape of her neck.
Because Linne Lancaster was a truly foolish and stupid woman.
* * *
“It seems like the Storytellers Guild is successfully carrying out their mission.”
At Mistress Titania’s report, the Black Prince in the first room of the Duke of Lancaster’s castle smiled bitterly. The true nature of the spider web scattered with blue.
“Was this the ‘unspeakable achievement’ that the Blue Tower spoke of earlier?”
“Didn’t I tell you that we were devoted to you even before the Shadow Lord realized his worth?”
Titania laughed. That was true.
Whenever young Dale was active in the northern backwaters, his exploits were spread by word of mouth throughout the continent. The same was true of the Empire’s greatest genius, Dale’s exploits in the Black and White Battle where he defeated Philip.
But, if you think about it logically, in this world without cars or airplanes, how could Dale’s tales of bravery spread so elaborately and so quickly?
Spreading such activities was the job of the magnates, and at the same time, the fact that such activities could spread to every corner of the empire was possible because the magnates formed a very thorough and elaborate ‘organization’.
Guild of Storytellers.
The fact that the guild itself was the blue spider web itself was nothing new.
In other words, the process by which Dale gained fame and notoriety as the empire’s greatest genius and ‘Black Prince’ was accompanied by the secret activities of the Blue Tower from the beginning.
“You guys are becoming more and more suspicious.”
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Dale answered coldly.
“How did you know that before I even became the Shadow Lord?”
“Well, I’m just a blue puppet.”
Mistress Titania trailed off meaningfully.
“It is just a small part of the spider web spread by our tower lord, the blue black curtain. How could a mere puppet like me dare to fathom the tower lord’s thoughts?”
“… … .”
Dale remained silent. But the silence ended there.
“Master right now.”
“Oh, I didn’t hear anything.”
After a moment of silence, Dale turned his head, and Master Salgeom Baro calmly dismissed the thought.
“Who asked that? They told me to come quickly and report the situation.”
“Oh my, I’m really sorry. I repeat, I really didn’t hear anything.”
Master Baro straightened up and looked at the map on the table that Dale was looking at. It was a map depicting the lands of the Archduke of Lancaster and his surrounding vassal nobles.
Right here and there on the map, there were dots in blood-red ink.
And towards the few spots that were not yet marked, Master Baro took hold of his quill and made bloody dots.
It was a sign that the Shadow Lord’s “Grave Walkers” had ‘honest conversations’ in the bedrooms of the nobles on John Lancaster’s side.
Except for John Lancaster’s counties and their environs, most strongholds are marked with blood.
“The will of heaven is like a reed, and as long as the reed is directed towards us, they have no choice but to take action.”
Mistress Titania smiled as she looked down at the map.
“The battle will begin soon, Shadow Lord.”
“In the current situation, using force would mean giving up the will of heaven with one’s own hands. We have no reason to hesitate.”
“Oh my, you are so smart.”
Titania smiled as if she was happy. But Dale did not smile.
* * *
“Charlotte Lancaster.”
While Dale was calmly assessing the situation, Charlotte Lancaster was also doing her part.
In an invisible war, it is Dale’s role to attract the hearts of the enemies.
But it was ultimately up to Charlotte, the head of the Lancaster family, to capture and solidify their hearts, which were tilted like reeds.
Among the Rosicrucian knights and retainers of the Duke of Lancaster’s castle, Charlotte Lancaster turned her head.
She was no longer wearing the armor of a knight of the night, but the red and white rose-emblazoned raiment of the Lancasters.
“I have something to tell you.”
Dale asked, bowing his head politely, and Charlotte nodded silently.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Charlotte stood up, leaving behind those who were loyal to her.
The two headed to an empty room in the Duke of Lancaster’s castle.
“Whew, that’s hard.”
Only then did Charlotte’s stiff expression soften. There was the Charlotte Dale knew.
“It seems like being a head of a household isn’t easy.”
“Yeah, I can’t even imagine how much your father is suffering.”
Charlotte laughed, and Dale laughed silently as well.
“Virgin John Lancaster will be mustering troops soon.”
“The time has finally come.”
Charlotte answered as if she wasn’t all that surprised.
“There is a red tower behind him. Although it may not be able to attract attention officially, there will definitely be strong forces that cannot be ignored in order to swallow up the Archduke of Lancaster.”
In any case, the fact that the royal family is moving so blatantly to swallow up the Lancaster family raises suspicions that it may be arousing the vigilance of the nobility within the empire. However, since it is done by sending out its representative, it is a completely separate matter.
Viscount John Lancaster himself is by no means a threat. Furthermore, the number of his loyal riders is in some sense of the same thing.
However, the reason he could be so reckless was because he had the red tower behind him.
And the Red Tower will not stop at just making up for its troubles by swallowing up the Lancaster family.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was Dale’s first battle against the full power of the Red Tower.
During the Unification War, knights were called the flowers of war.
But when the Red Tower’s Red Magicians, with their red robes fluttering in the wind, appeared in battle, the soldiers looked upon them with awe and called them:
God of War.
This battle is against the god of war himself.
“I told you, Dale.”
Despite this, Charlotte was not fazed.
“I am Charlotte of Saxony.”
“… … .”
“Don’t forget that I am just a sword that is wielded for you.”
“okay.”
Charlotte said, and Dale nodded quietly.
The invisible war over the reed of heaven’s heart ends here.
From now on, a truly visible war will begin.
